At the very end of the season there are still opportunities that should galvanise some England players. Switzerland are the opponents in Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley but intense competition has already broken out within the squad. The flanks are now the focus of attention for Fabio Capello and enough wingers are available for the manager to relish the keen competition as they show their worth.

There have been casualties and it is notable that Aaron Lennon has gone so far out of favour that he has not been capped since last year's World Cup. Others have flourished to such a degree that they are seen in a new light. Operating for Aston Villa as a left-footer on the right has, for instance, seemed to help Stewart Downing extend the range of his play. His impact was great in March's friendly with Ghana.

One of the rivals for selection, however, will be highly familiar to him. In his days at Middlesbrough Downing stayed behind after training with a younger winger who is now a fellow member of the England squad. "We used to practise crossing and shooting after training," says Adam Johnson, now of Manchester City, "and help each other out."

Johnson looks forward to readying himself for a Champions League campaign with City. "I knew it was going to be massive," he says of a club transforming itself at vast expense. "My whole life has changed." The winger has done well not to get lost in that revolution, yet it would have been a foolish manager who did not recognise potential value in Johnson, who has the bearing of a creative midfielder when he comes in from the flank.

In the fourth of his six caps he made himself central enough in Basle to score and so end the contest as he put England 2-0 ahead of Switzerland last September during the 3-1 victory. He did so by taking the ball round the goalkeeper Diego Benaglio. That composure was all the more eye-catching since a supposedly callow Johnson was a substitute then, just as he had been when claiming a goal in the previous match, a friendly with Bulgaria.

That calmness is a key asset of a player who was ready to take his opportunity after sustaining ankle ligament damage in January. He is sceptical rather than euphoric about his displays since returning to the City starting line-up in the spring. "I haven't been really delighted with my form," he says. "People say it's going to take a little while to get back to where you were. I rushed back for the FA Cup semi-final but that was the first long-term injury of my career."

His winner's medal in the tournament came as a substitute in the victory over Stoke. Any great achievements still lie before him but he is encouraged to show his flair even by the sometimes forbidding England manager. "He lets the creative players express themselves," Johnson says. "He doesn't want you to do one specific thing. He just wants you to be free. He's not one to take something out of your game. When you're attacking in the final third you do what you're good at. That's what you want to hear."

It is to Capello's benefit that Johnson goes about his daily business at City alongside renowned footballers. "Training with the likes of Carlos Tevez and David Silva brings you on," the winger says. Johnson admits that Tevez "carries us sometimes with his goals and drive", adding that the Argentinian is one of "only five or six strikers who can get you that many goals at the highest level". As with anyone attached to City, Johnson would be relieved if speculation over the Argentinian's future came to an end. "I hope we can keep hold of him," he says.

That small disquiet is understandable but the great aim for City is to ensure their fortunes are not tied to the form of one player. Johnson appreciates that and the inclination to refer to Silva as well as Tevez is significant.

The manager, Roberto Mancini, will expect better still from Johnson in due course. Only injury has pushed the midfielder out of Capello's plans of late and, if picked against Switzerland, the onus is on him to demonstrate the same influence even as rivals start planning in more detail to check his impact. Johnson had best console himself with the thought that such attention is a compliment.